I Dont Get It
by BlackBloodyNightmares
Summary: Max is going through a hard time and he cant understand why.


LEA ZARUCKI SPEECH 143 – D

5/4/05 MANUSCRIPT

A NEW ADDICTION…

IF I ASKED YOU TO NAME SOME OF THE ADDICTIONS FACING

TODAY'S TEENS, MANY HANDS WOULD GO UP TO NAME DRUGS

AND ALCOHOL. AFTER THOSE TWO ANSWERS WERE GIVEN

THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE A LOT LESS HANDS RASIED.

MOST PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF IT BUT GAMBLING

ADDICTIONS ARE A MAJOR ISSUE FACING TODAY'S TEENS. IT

REALLY ISNT MUCH OF A WONDER HOW THIS HAPPENED WITH

ALL THE RECENT GLAMARIZED POKER GAMES ON THE CABLE

NETWORKS BEING RUN BY ALL THE MAJOR HOLLYWOOD

PLAYERS. I FEEL AWARENESS OF THIS ISSUE IS OUR BEST

WEAPON IN THIS FIGHT.

GAMBLING HAS GROWN INTO SUCH A LARGE PROBLEM IN

RECENT YEARS MAINLY BECAUSE OF ITS VAST AVAILABILTY

IN EVERYDAY LIFE. JUST ABOUT EVERY CONVIENCE STORE,

GAS STATION, AND CARD STORE SELLS SOME VERSION OF THE

STATE LOTTERY WHETHER IT BE SCRATCH OFFS OR LOTTERY

TICKETS. WHATS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE GROWTH OF THE

GAMBLING EPIDEMIC IS THE ATTRACTION OF THE EVER

POPULAR GET RICH QUICK TRICKS. JUST LOOK AT THE MOTTO

OF THE NEW YORK STATE LOTTERY "HEY YOU NEVER KNOW".

EVERYONE CAN USE AN EXTRA BUCK, BUT TEENS MOST OF ALL

SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR THAT WAY TO BUY THE NEW CAR,

BRAND NAME CLOTHING, OR STATE OF THE ART ELECTRONICS.

THAT IS JUST HOW THE ADDICTION STARTS. YOUNG TEENS ARE

LOOKING TO MAKE A DOLLAR AND GAMBLING SEEMS LIKE AN

EASY WAY TO DO SO.

A GAMBLING ADDICTION WITH A TEEN STARTS OUT SMALL.

IT CAN BE ANYTHING FROM BETTING ON A SPORTS GAME TO

PARTICIPATING IN A POKER GAME WITH SOME FRIENDS ON A

SATURDAY NIGHT. IN AN ALARMINGLY GROWING NUMBER OF

THIS COUNTRY'S YOUTH THE OCCASIONAL BET TURNS INTO A

FULL BLOWN ADDICTION. THE COUNCIL OF COMPLUSIVE

GAMBLING OF NEW JERSEY, INC., HAS BROKEN DOWN ONES

DESENT INTO GAMBLING ADDICTION INTO 3 MAIN STEPS. THE

FIRST STEP IS CALLED THE "WINNING PHASE". THIS USUALLY

OCCURS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE ADDITCION AND IS

CLASSIFIED AS THE POSTIVE THINKING TIME IN A YOUTH'S

GAMBLING OBSESSION. THEY GAMBLE TO FOR THE FUN OF IT.

IT IS CONSIDERED THERE DOWN TIME. ANY LOSS AT THIS TIME

IS SIMPLE CONSIDERED SOME BAD LUCK. THE NEXT PHASE IS

"LOSING PHASE". THIS PERIOD IS CLASSIFIED BY THE YOUTH'S

LOSS OF SELF ESTEEM DUE TO THEIR MONETARY LOSSES. IT IS

AT THIS POINT WHERE ONE MANY HAVE TO BORROW, LIE, OR

EVEN STEAL MONEY TO BET TO TRY TO WIN BACK WHAT THEY

HAVE ALREADY LOSS. LASTLY, STAGE NUMBER THREE, OR THE

ROCK BOTTOM STAGE, IT WHEN THE GAMBLING OBSESSION

HAS FIRMLY TAKEN HOLD. THE YOUTH WILL BECOME

DESPARATE AS THEY SEE DEBTS MOUNDING AND WHILE

GAMBLING, OR WINNING JUST ONE MORE BET, SEEMS AS

THERE ONLY WAY OUT THEY HAVE NO MEANS TO DO SO. IN

VERY EXTREME CASES SUCIDIAL THOUGHT CAN OCCUR AT

THIS POINT. (ONEIL, PARAS. 6-9)

THE BEST WAY WEAPON, WE AS A SOCIETY, HAVE TO FIGHT

THIS EPIDEMIC IS TO HIGHTEN OUR AWARENESS TO IT. IT IS

IMPORTANT TO MONITOR A TEENAGERS HABITS. A PARENT

WOULDN'T LOOK THE OTHER WAY IF THEY SAY THEIR

UNDERAGE CHILD DRINKING OR SMOKING SO WHY DO SO IF

THEIR CHILD IS GAMBLING? WHILE I DON'T BELIEVE THE

OCCASIONAL POKER GAME IS THE CAUSE OF THIS TYPE OF

ADDICTION I DO BELIEVE THAT PARENTS SHOULDN'T MAKE IT

SO EASY FOR THEIR TEENS TO PARTICIPATE IN ILLEGAL

ACTIVITES. IT SHOLUD BE MADE COMMON KNOWLEDGE HOW A

GAMBLING ADDICTION STARTS, THE PROBLEMS IT CAN CAUSE,

AND WHERE ONE CAN GO FOR HELP.

CORPORATIONS WHO PROFIT FROM THOSE WHO BET A

DOLLAR IN THE HOPES OF MAKING A QUICK FORTUNE, SUCH AS

THE STATE LOTTO ASSOCIATIONS OR THE CASINO OWNERS

NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSILBE FOR ALLOWING UNDERAGE

TEENS TO GAMBLE. I ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE LAST

TIME YOU WERE IN A CONVIENCE STORE AND WITNESSES

SOME ONE BEING CARDED AS THEY PURCHASED LOTTERY

TICKETS AS COMPARED TO WHEN ONE BUYS CIGARETTES. I

CAN TELL YOU THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN IN A CASINO

IN ATLANTIC CITY GAMBLING WHILE I WAS UNDERAGE. THE

ONLY TIME A CASINO WORKER EVEN LOOKED MY WAY WAS TO

ASK ME IF I WANTED ANOTHER DRINK. WITH CONSEQUENCES

AS SEVERE AS THEY ARE IN THIS TYPE OF GROWING EPIDEMIC,

SHOULDN'T WE DEMAND THAT THESE PEOPLE DO THE RIGHT

THING AND MONITOR THE AGE OF THE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING

IN THEIR FORM OF GAMBLING.

I ASK THAT WE RAISE THE AWARENESS OF THIS ADDICTION

TO THE SAME LEVEL AS THAT OF DRUG OR ALCOHOL ABUSE. IT

IS ONLY IF WE ARE TO FACE THE PROBLEM HEAD ON THAT

TODAYS YOUTH WILL HAVE ANY FIGHTING CHANCE TO

OVERCOME THIS ADDICTION.

WORKS CITED PAGE:

O'NEIL, KEVIN. "ADOLESCENT COMPLUSIVE GAMBLING:

THE HIDDEN EPIDEMIC." 14 JUNE 2003 http/www.800/ 


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